Panther Beach & Hole in the Wall

North of Santa Cruz near the outpost of Davenport is a stretch of rugged coastline with rocky cliffs, sea stacks, and unique marine terraces interspersed with golden sandy beaches.  Panther Beach and Hole in the Wall Beach are two of these stunning beaches. Both are located just south of Bonny Doon Road and accessed from the same point. The parking area is not marked along the road and very easy to pass. If you’re traveling from the south and you reach Bonny Doon Road and the parking for Bonny Doon Beach, you’ve driven too far. The parking area is actually an elongated gravel strip by the old railroad tracks that is often potholed. 

Once parked, the descent to the beach on foot can be tricky in flip flops as it’s steep and rocky in spots. The extra effort to get here is well worth the effort as Panther Beach is beautifully situated among the cliffs. At the south end of the beach is a rock formation with an arch, known as the Hole in the Wall, that leads to its namesake beach. The only way to access Hole in the Wall Beach is through this arch and one must be mindful of the tides as this entry point can become inaccessible in high tides. Hole in the Wall Beach is equally gorgeous with several sandy alcoves and a distinctive golden hue to the rock walls.  At the far south end of the beach is an impressive sea stack with a large area of rock terraces for exploration in low tides. Look for Jah Beach and Ship Rock in the next post. Here are some photos with the complete album here.

Complete album here.

Pigeon Point Sunset

Pigeon Point Light Station, built in 1871, is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States standing 115 ft tall. It is located a few miles south of Pescadero on a rocky promontory with gorgeous views of the surrounding coastline and Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse is currently undergoing restoration to preserve this important heritage site. I have driven by Pigeon Point several times on the way to various trails in the area including fantastic running in nearby Butano State Park and Big Basin State Park via Waddell Beach. After a nice run, I stopped to enjoy a marvelous sunset on the cliffs near the lighthouse. Some of my favorite photos are below with more here.

Many more photos here. 

Sonoma Coast and Kortum Trail

A magnificent stretch of rugged coastline is protected by Sonoma Coast State Beach. The northern portion of the coast features a spectacular hike along the Kortum Trail. Highway 1 is never far away and there are numerous access points and parking lots along the trail, but the hike is situated right above the bluffs providing close views of this wild stretch of coastline that is otherwise not visible. The rugged rock formations and spectacular sandy beaches are breathtaking and make this one of my favorite stretches of California coastline. In all, you can piece together about 3.5 miles of easy trail (7 miles as an out-and-back). In particular, Furlong Beach, featured heavily below, is one of the most striking beaches I have seen. I will surely be back here to explore other portions of the Sonoma coastline. Here are some photos from two trips, one during the day and one for evening light, with the complete photo albums here and here.

Complete photo album here.

2011 Adventure Run Recap

2011 was another great year for adventure running with lots of trips to the High Sierra and a couple in the North Cascades of Washington State. It was great to venture into some of the most remote regions in both ranges and see terrain I have never seen. I’m already looking forward to adventures in 2012 but here are some photos and links to full reports from the adventures of this past year. See 2010 recap here.

1. Cone Peak “Sea to Sky” - January 29th: Second annual trip from the Big Sur Coast up to 5,155 ft Cone Peak with spectacular views and a redwood canyon. I’ve dreamed of doing this run when there is fresh snow atop Cone Peak so we’ll see if I can get lucky with timing this year. 
2. Winter Alta Peak – January 31st: Amazing views of the Great Western Divide on this snowshoe trip out of Wolverton in Sequoia National Park. 
3. Bear Creek Spire & Mount Dade – July 3rd: My second visit to this lovely basin with picturesque alpine lakes and rugged alpine beauty. 
4. Mount Sill – July 4th: My second time up 14,159 ft Mount Sill, known as the best viewpoint in the High Sierra. The route features a crossing of the Palisade Glacier, largest body of ice remaining in the Sierra Nevada, surrounded by the towering walls of Mount Sill, North Palisade and Thunderbolt Peak. 
5. Mount Lyell & Mount Maclure – July 9th: Improved my time by 65 minutes to 8:50 roundtrip for the climb of these two peaks that are the roof of Yosemite!  
6. The Whaleback & Big Wet Meadows – July 23rd:  A 50 mile adventure run up Cloud Canyon and Big Wet Meadows to climb Whaleback, one of the most remote spots in the High Sierra. Incredible! 
7. Primus, Austera & Eldorado – July 30th: Colin Abercrombie and I toured the Eldroado Ice Cap climbing Primus Peak, Austera Peak and Eldorado along the way. We started at 2 am and finished at 5:40 pm for a 15:40 day. It has been since 2005 that we explored the ice cap towards Austera so it was nice to return to this scenically stellar region and explore a new area beyond Austera to the North Klawatti Glacier and Primus Peak.
8. West McMillan Spire – August 1st: Awesome climb of this impressive summit in the Southern Pickets in a new FKT of 8:14 roundtrip.  
9. Northern Yosemite 50 Mile Loop – August 6th: An “instant classic” adventure run of a 50+ mile loop in the remote Northern Yosemite region beginning at Twin Lakes, and including five passes, the Benson Lake riviera and a summit of Volunteer Peak. I’ll definitely be returning to do this one again! 
10. Milestone & Midway – September 3rd: An adventure run to climb Milestone Mountain (13,641 ft) and Midway Mountain (13,666 ft) along the Great Western Divide, two of the most remote points in the High Sierra. Milestone Creek and Basin are exceptionally scenic with lovely alpine lakes and tarns, polished granite, and the towering peaks of the Great Western Divide.  
11. TRT-Flume Trail 27 Mile Loop – September 10th: Great 27+ mile loop in the northeast part of Lake Tahoe with nice trails and awesome views. 
12. Eagle Scout Peak & Kaweah Gap – September 25th: An adventure run to Eagle Scout Peak via Kaweah Gap in 9:38 roundtrip from Crescent Meadows. Eagle Scout Peak is located just south of Kaweah Gap along the Great Western Divide in a remote region of Sequoia National Park. The climb of the 12,000 ft peak entails over 45 miles roundtrip and 8,000+ ft of elevation gain. While it’s a long way just to Kaweah Gap along the High Sierra Trail (21 miles from Crescent Meadow), the scenery is phenomenal and well worth the effort. The sapphire blue of Hamilton Lakes and the towering granite walls of Angel Wings and the Valhallas are truly magnificent.  
13. Mount Dana – October 16th: A quick climb up this summit near Tioga Pass for early morning light on freshly snow covered peaks of the Yosemite high country. 
14. Vogelsang Peak – October 16th: The afternoon part after Mount Dana was a climb of Vogelsang, with great trails and nice views. 
15. Mount Conness via Young Lakes – October 23rd: Another spectacular fall day in the Sierras with an extremely scenic and pleasant climb of Mount Conness via Young Lakes. The route we took is one of the longer approaches to the mountain, but the views of Tuolumne Meadows and gorgeous Young Lakes along the way more than compensated. I did not have any expectations for Young Lakes but they turned out to be one of the highlights of the day and we spent considerable time at the main lower lake both on the trek in and on the way out. New snow on the surrounding cliffs of the Young Lakes cirque added to the beauty and this is a place I will definitely be returning to explore.
16. Mount McDuffie & Ladder Lake – October 30th: My favorite adventure run of the year, Ladder Lake along the way to Mount McDuffie is one of the most rugged and wild corners of the High Sierra that I have seen. While the ascent of Mount McDuffie might not be the most aesthetic, the summit provides a magnificent vantage of most of the Palisades, the Ionian Basin, and Le Conte Canyon

Point Reyes Scenes

A few of my favorite photos from a recent run at Point Reyes National Seashore. It has been a couple years since I did this particular route and it was just as good as I remembered it. Highlights include Mount Wittenberg, Woodward Valley, Sculptured Beach, Kelham Beach, Arch Rock, Wildcat Beach and Alamere Falls; essentially all the highlights of the southern portion of Point Reyes. From my experience, late fall and winter are particularly good times to visit during good weather stretches with excellent clarity and little in the way of marine fog. Simply put, Point Reyes is awesome! Complete photo album here.

Complete photo album here.

Cowell-Purisima Coastal Trail

Twenty five years in the making, Peninsula Open Space Trust and the State Coastal Conservancy opened up a brand new trail along the rugged San Mateo Coastline known as the Cowell-Purisima Trail. The path travels approximately three miles south from Cowell Ranch Beach culminating in a spectacular viewpoint at the southern end from a promontory. The multi-use trail includes a new coat of gravel and three large bridges. It is almost entirely flat except for one section to cross the Purisima Creek drainage. The southern end features a new parking area long Highway 1 and the northern end is the existing Cowell Ranch Beach parking. The bluff trail features spectacular coastline characteristic of the San Mateo Coast, including numerous pristine and inaccessible beaches along the way that make for great photography. The only accessible beach with a staircase is the Cowell Ranch beach at the northern end. The other beaches below the bluff appear to be a precarious scramble through loose dirt and vegetation. I was excited about this new stretch of coastline to explore within 25 minutes of my home. I was not disappointed with the coastal scenery and here are some photos!

Trail Map here.

Willow Camp-Steep Ravine

Another phenomenal hike on Mount Tam, this time the 8.5 mile Willow Camp-Steep Ravine Loop. In terms of sweeping vistas and stunning scenery, this loop is superior to the Steep Ravine-Matt Davis Loop in my opinion. The reason is because it includes 1.8 miles along the Coastal Trail as it traverses a steep grassy hillside with jaw-dropping views around every corner. Looking down at Stinson Beach nearly 1,800 vertical feet below you literally feel like you’re getting an aerial view. However, the Willow Camp trail back down to Stinson Beach is steep and loose requiring careful attention. Make sure to make many stops since the views of Stinson Beach are spectacular throughout the descent. In addition, the classic Steep Ravine trail, with its wooden ladder, stone steps, numerous bridges, and old growth redwoods was incredibly lush on this day (almost like a jungle) after copious late-season rains. The complete photo album is here.

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West Point Inn Pancake Breakfast

The West Point Inn sits high on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais with a commanding view of the San Francisco Bay Area. Close by is Mill Valley, Tiburon, and Angel Island. Most of the downtown San Francisco skyline is visible along with one arch of the Golden Gate Bridge beyond the Marin Headlands. The Inn was built in 1904 and since 1943 the West Point Inn Association of volunteers has worked to maintain and remodel this hidden gem. Today the main building and adjacent cabins are available for overnight stays and six times a year a pancake breakfast is served for $10. The public can only reach the inn by fire road or trail via foot or mountain bike. Multiple trailheads provide access to the inn with distances ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 miles. Many more photos here.

On this day, I first joined Jon and Joel for a long run around Mount Tamalpais, including the old growth redwoods in Muir Woods, the Coastal Trail, and the technical single tracks on the north side of the mountain. Appropriately hungry after the long run, we proceeded to the West Point Inn from near Mountain Theater. We enjoyed blueberry pancakes, sausages, and coffee while warming up by the wood fire. Afterwards, we watched the Bay Area “reveal” itself in dramatic fashion as the fog and low clouds lifted and dispersed. Soon enough, sun was shining through with excellent clarity and unique contrast for fun photography (complete album). I look forward to returning to the West Point Inn for future pancake breakfasts, views, and an overnight stay!

Figure-8 long run run route (start at Mountain Theater):

• Easy Grade to Pantoll
• Old Mine Trail
• TCC
• Stapelveldt
• Ben Johnson
• Alice Eastwood
• Sierra Trail
• Troop 80
• TCC
• Stapelveldt to Pantoll
• Matt Davis/Coastal Trail
• Laurel Dell Fire Road
• Cataract Trail
• High Marsh Trail
• Kent Trail
• Benstein Trail to Mountain Theater
• Rock  Springs Trail to West Point Inn

Many more photos here.

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Mount Tam Long Run!

Yesterday I enjoyed an awesome run on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais with Joel. The weather was spectacular with clear skies and relatively warm temperatures. The hills were vibrant with fresh green grass and multitudes of wildflowers. This combination made for some phenomenal photography opportunities. We started at Pantoll and ran the Coastal Trail/Bolinas Fire Road to the McCurday Trail junction. On the way back, we dropped down to Stinson Beach via the Matt Davis Trail and came up Dipsea/Steep Ravine. The last few miles were on the other side of the ridge into Muir Woods with a loop entailing Stapelveldt, Ben Johnson, Bootjack, and TCC. I estimate this run to be around 30 miles with around 5,500 feet of elevation gain with ~3,000 ft of that coming in the last 8 miles. As usual, Mount Tam delivers an extremely memorable experience and I look forward to returning soon. The complete photo album here.

Many more photos here. 

Tourist Club SF

The Tourist Club SF is a sweet destination on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. The German themed chalet is a private club except for limited hours on most weekends. There is a beautiful view overlooking Muir Woods and a selection of German beers are served on tap along with pickles, sausages, and a few other items. It’s a great spot to relax and enjoy the surroundings. You can park fairly close to the Tourist Club but the most aesthetic way to reach it is via a hike from Muir Woods. On this day, we walked the main interpretive trail along Redwood Creek and then took Fern Trail, Lost Trail, Panoramic Trail, and Redwood Trail to reach the chalet. On the way back, we closed the loop by taking the Sun Trail and Dipsea Trail back to the Muir Woods parking area. This route itinerary provided great variety characteristic of Mount Tamalpais, including old growth redwoods, mixed hardwood forest, and wildflower meadowland with views. I’ll definitely be back to the Tourist Club… another great afternoon on Mount Tam! Complete photo album here.

Complete photo album here.